1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements in toy building blocks whereby spaced-apart blocks may be interconnected by planar sheets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Toy building blocks of many different configurations are, of course, very well known and popular and have always been one of the most popular toys in a wide variety of cultures. The building blocks take many different forms and some of these forms have become extremely well known in association with their respective trademarks. The blocks employ various interconnection means to permit them to be snapped, or otherwise held, together in a fixed relationship in order to build structures.
Building toys also exist which employed hinged connections between the parts and a number of building toys employ connector pieces which permit structures to be assembled from larger framing pieces.
Interconnected toy building blocks which also included interconnected planar members are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,281,856, patented Oct. 15, 1918, by G. E. Shaw, U.S. Pat. No. 1,883,214, patented Oct. 18, 1918, by E. B. Wilson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,633,662, patented Apr. 7, 1953, by W. O. Nelson, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,177, patented Aug. 6, 1974, by G. Wengel, all taught toy construction sets in which the elements thereof were held together by cooperation between planar members and grooves in cube-like, cylindrical or disc-like connectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,838, patented Apr. 25, 1972 by R. Hanning et al taught toy blocks which included corner pieces in the form of hollow rectangle parallelepiped blocks which had parallel-disposed, dovetail-shaped grooves, while other such toy blocks had parallel-disposed, dovetail-shaped ribs, while still others had both parallel disposed dovetail-shaped grooves and parallel disposed dovetail-shaped ribs. In addition, construction rods were provided which had dovetail-shaped projections at each end. Connection members were also provided which had such a cross-section that they were at least partly insertable into hollow spaces of the corner pieces. The construction rods were lockable by means of holding members.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,143, patented Aug. 16, 1988, by A. Gat et al, disclosed various interlocking toy blocks whose interlocking was primarily by means of dovetail grooves and dovetail ribs, but which also disclosed planar portions to provide triangular or rectangular enclosures.
A particularly relevant patent is U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,201, patented Jun. 18, 1996, by the present inventor, Paul T. Maddock. That patent provided a toy construction kit with interconnecting holding means, and included a plurality of building pieces of various configurations, including building pieces each having six faces, each one of the six faces having interconnection means which was configured for direct connection to complementary interconnection means on other building pieces. The interconnection means in at least one of the faces included an aperture defined therein which was particularly sized and shaped to receive a connector member in the kit which was either a planar, essentially rectangular cross-section elongate element or a planar, essentially rectangular cross-section tongue integral with and extending from another building piece. The other faces each had other interconnection means, including at least two of the following: A pin which was parallel to a face of the piece which was particularly sized to engage a corresponding sleeve on another piece, for hinged connection such that one piece may rotate with respect to another piece; or a sleeve parallel to a face of the piece, which was particularly sized to engage a corresponding pin on another piece, for hinged connection such that one piece may rotate with respect to another piece; or a male dovetail on a face of the piece which was particularly sized to engage a corresponding female dovetail on another piece such that one piece slidably engages with another piece; or a female dovetail on a face of the piece, which was particularly sized to engage a corresponding male dovetail on another piece such that one piece slidably engaged with another piece; or a tongue of rectangular cross-section projecting from a face of the piece which was particularly sized to engage one of the apertures. The patent also provided a row of interconnected blocks which were further interconnected by stick-like columns.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,046 patented Jul. 7, 1998 by D. J. Fanger et al provided modular construction units as L-shaped or U-shaped or open-ended rectangular parallelepiped boxes. Each of the members was provided with an array of cooperating dovetails and dovetail-shaped keyways. These elements were closely spaced so that a pair of such members could be meshed together and be locked against motion in two directions. Specially-located engaging elements along the length of the construction units or the sides of the units made therefrom allowed mated construction members to be translated relative to each other as desired, even if one construction member was mated therewith, and bridged across two facing construction members, thus exhibiting translational symmetry. They also facilitate the rotation in place of any units made from a plurality of construction members, thus exhibiting rotational symmetry. The patent also provided planar members which could be linked together by connectors to form triangular or pentagonal enclosures.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,707,268, patented Jan. 13, 1998, by K. S. Outman provided toy construction sets in which the individual units were held together through means cooperating with holes in the toy blocks. The individual units consisted of a triangular plate, an elongated slot adjacent to an edge of the plate, and an elongated coupling sleeve.
The above-identified copending application Ser. No. 09/149,477 also disclosed toy building pieces which may be advantageously used in conjunction with a variety of differently-shaped framing pieces or connectors for building of structures, e.g., polyhedral figures, geodesic domes or many other structures. One or more faces of the building pieces had interlocking means in the form of dovetail tongues and/or dovetail grooves, and had an aperture in the surface thereof to receive a thin rectangular shape, or a cylindrical-shaped end of a framing piece of various cross-section or connectors, which were I-shaped in cross-section. Other faces of the modular element incorporated interconnection means, which included for example: especially configured angular connection pieces which can be used in conjunction with other pieces to construct polyhedral figures; other pieces which are designed for hinged connection; a dovetail tongue on one part which is adapted to engage a dovetail groove on another part; or a tongue projecting from a face to engage one of the apertures. The adapter pieces were provided to change the connection means of a piece.
Such copending application Ser. No. 09/149,477 also provided axial connecting members in the form of rectangularly-shaped panels having edges which were adapted to be inserted into receptive recesses which are provided in, or by, a plurality of interconnected blocks. It further included axial connecting members in the form of thin-walled panels, which were either planar or which included curved surfaces. It further included axial connecting members in the form of thin-walled panels having perforated openings therethrough, the thin-walled panels being either planar or including curved surfaces. It also included axial connecting members in the form of thin-walled panels having perforated openings therethrough, the thin-walled panels being either planar or including curved surfaces, in combination with a plurality of connecting members which were provided with a cylindrical projection for engagement through the perforated openings and into the central hollow cylindrical members of the modular elements.
In more specific terms, such copending application Ser. No. 09/149,477 provided a framework of primary blocks supplied with panels which can be attached to the interconnected blocks for making walls of toy buildings. The panels can be connected to the blocks using a circular button connector with a shoulder provided thereon. This will pass through the perforation in the panel and can be held in the recess of the primary blocks. The panels can also be supported by dovetail grooves of the primary blocks by using support pieces. The panels maybe provided with printed matter for further enhancement. The panels can also be triangular or any other suitable shape if preferred.
Thus, as noted above, many prior art building block toys have many obvious attractions and should not be criticised. However, there is always a demand for new building block toys which may offer different possibilities from those of the prior art. It is believed that the construction sets available on the market can be made still more versatile. For example, a wall may be constructed similar to bricks with the most popular blocks with interconnection on two faces. Although there are special pieces to expand in other directions, the blocks were not provided with an alternative for making a framed structure. On the other hand, while some construction sets provided good framing features, the individual pieces could not interlock to form a solid wall. It is also believed that most toy kits are limited since they could not be used to construct the many attractive polyhedral and spherical shapes shown in some geometry books.
(a) Aims of the Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a retrofit interconnecting element to provide a novel construction toy which will offer an attractive alternative to various prior art building blocks.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide improvements in interconnectable toy building blocks having a basically simple geometric shape which is capable of interlocking in different directions and capable of a choice of framing pieces, in the nature of a retrofit interconnecting element which facilitates the addition of planar members to the construction.
(b) Statement of Invention
The present invention provides an improvement in a toy building block system in which a block is interconnectable with an interconnectable block, the improvement comprising an interconnecting profile which is connectable to at least one of the interconnectable blocks and is provided with copending means to engage and secure a planar panel.
The profile is preferably formed from an extrudable synthetic plastic material, e.g., polyethylene or polyvinylchloride. The copending means is generally in the form of a slot, e.g., a xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d-slot, an xe2x80x9cHxe2x80x9d-slot or an xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d-slot.
The panels may cooperate with the blocks to be parallel to at least one face thereof or my be such as to be angularly disposed thereof.
The blocks may be an interconnectable block, e.g., VECTA BLOCKS(trademark) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,201 or in the above-identified pending application Ser. No. 09/149,477; or the LEGO(trademark) blocks described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,005,282 or in U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,403; or the TYCO(trademark) blocks described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,780.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it so be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred bodies of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.